Developing: Kragthorpe diagnosed with Parkinson's ((UPDATED With Video))

((ht: lsusports.net))

Steve Kragthorpe/Courtesy: Steve Franz-LSU Athletics

Wow! Steve Kragthorpe, hired to be the Offensive Coordinator this season at LSU announced today he's been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and will back off his responsibilities this season and remain on the staff as the Quarterbacks coach.

This comes on the heels of LSU's 1st official practice of the season. Offensive line coach Greg Studrawa will take over for Kragthorpe.

Kragthorpe was a head coach at Lousiville and before that at Tulsa and is considered one of the best offensive minds in College Football.

Sadly, he sat out the 2010 season because apparently his wife had been diagnosed with MS.

We give props to Kragthorpe for trying to persevere through all of this and are glad he'll be able to still do what he loves, coach football.

All of us at OSG Sports wish he and his family nothing but success and luck as they battle these debilitating diseases.

Here's the report from our friends at WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge...

Carousel Begins...Kragthorpe Fired

*****BREAKING NEWS******

Well, it looks like the 1st of the sort of "Big Name" schools has started the carousel. Multiple outlets are reporting that the University of Louisville has fired its football coach, Steve Kragthorpe.

More from the Louisville Courier-Journal RIGHT HERE
WHAS-TV has the story too...it's RIGHT HERE

((Steve Kragthorpe is perplexed//Courtesy: John Summers/IconSI))

The move is expected to be announced at a Press Conference going on roughly about the time we write this story. AD Tom Jurich met with Kragthorpe early on Saturday. The firing should not come as a huge surprise, the Cardinals had there worst year in a long time this season, finishing 4-8. In fact their record has gotten progressively worse under Kragthorpe who was hired to replace Bobby Petrino after the 2006 season

The Cardinals are at somewhat of a crossroads as they will open a large expansion of Papa Johns Stadium next season, though the attendance for their games has been steadily dwindling. Already, there had been speculation (mostly from delusional Louisville people) that they wanted to hire Jon Gruden. Lately, speculation has swirled about Texas Tech Coach Mike Leach being a potential candidate.

It will be interesting to see what Louisville does. Along with the coaches who already have jobs, guys such as Tommy Tuberville and Philip Fulmer, who apparently already has a staff ready to go are out there after sitting out 2009, will no doubt be anxious to find some work.

We also have two names in our hip pocket that we're hanging on to, and when the time is right we'll let you know who those guys are...

Here's Fox41's coverage of Jurich's presser...

Chucky to Louisville?

Okay, let's play Coaching Carousel rumors today. In today's game we will name a team or school who thinks that they might have a coaching job coming available in the near future. We will name the school and then we will name the name that they are trying to attract.

Today's school is Louisville. Louisville has had a decent run of success in Football over the past oh...10 years. A lot of that is due to the coaches that they have had. The current coach; Steve Kragthorpe has not been very successful; in fact there are almost weekly rumors that he will be losing his job...sooner rather than later.

What name would be attached to this you ask? Why it's none other than former Tampa Bay Buccaneer coach and current Monday Night Football Announcer Jon Gruden. Why Gruden? Well, you can read the original report yourself from the National Football Post...though it doesn't offer much insight aside from Gruden's brother Jay playing there

The story from the National Football Post right HERE .

The NFL Network's Michael Lombardi adds his 2-Cents HERE.

((Jon Gruden Photo//Courtesy: s2nblog.wordpress.com))

Really, we don't put a whole lot of credence in this story, we just felt like it was an excuse to talk about Gruden. If you have watched Monday Night Football, it's amazing how good and natural he seems in the analyst role. I never would have figured that. Gruden's name has also popped up in conversations about the Redskins, Raiders and other crappy NFL teams.

We think Louisville may be a bit out of their minds for throwing this out there, but if I'm Tom Jurich, why not? His program isn't quite the "Elite" program that he seems to think it is, but they have had some success and when the inevitable happens and Kragthorpe gets fired, they will be able to find a decent coach to take over the reins.

As much as we wouldn't mind seeing Gruden back on a sideline because he without a doubt was one of the most entertaining coaches out there, we like him more in his current role with MNF. There haven't been any reports that I have seen stating he doesn't like the cushy TV gig, so if that is true...then why leave it?

In the meantime, enjoy this clip of Gruden wearing a mic...Courtesy: YouTube

TWTW: Kragthorpe Escapes For Now, Beats USM

((HT: WDRB/Fox 41))

More people, it seems, were interested in talking about Steve Kragthorpe's future as the head coach at the University of Louisville going into his game with Southern Miss this weekend.

U of L quarterback Adam Froman threw for 248 yards and a touchdown---a 92-yard connection to Scott Long in the 3rd quarter---in Louisville's 25-23 win over Southern Miss.

Cardinals kicker Ryan Payne kicked a late 32-yard field goal to give Louisville its final lead of the game. The victory snaps U of L's three-game skid. Tom Lane got to do an outdoors live shot for his wrap...

Thanks to our friends at WDRB/Fox 41 in Louisville

Code Red For Louisville Football?

The college head coach with the hottest backside heading into the 2009 season would appear to be Steve Kragthrope at Louisville. In his first two seasons the Cards have folded with an 11-13 record during coach Kragthrope's watch.

The term "make or break season" has been associated with Kragthrope entering the 2009 season but the Louisville head coach told the Louisville Courier-Journal recently that every year he feels is a make or break season, even back when Kragthrope was an assistant coach.

The Louisville fans are very restless. They were been spoiled by the high level of success Bobby Petrino had during his brief tenure in horse country. Petrino had the Cardinal football program in the national mix but since he left for the NFL ( and then bolted for Arkansas) Louisville hasn't even been relavent in the Big East Conference.

Kragthrope did acknowledge to the Louisville Curier-Journal that Louisville hasn't had the wins during his era saying, "....“we have not won games, and the fans want to see us win games”

While Kragthrope is feeling the heat from the fans but he's not feeling it from the administration. Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich stands behind his man.

“I don't like to ever be patient. I am impatient, but I also know the job at hand,” Jurich told the Louisville Courier-Journal. “I know what we have to get done. I know we can't just do this overnight.”

Even with his bosses support the death watch seems to have begun on Kragthrope's job. Last week in his blog for the AJC.com, Tony Barnhart suggested to keep an eye on the Louisville program. Here's what Barnhart wrote in the AJC.com.

After a posting on my recent meeting with Phillip Fulmer, the former Tennessee coach, several peopled asked where he could potentially land if he gets back into coaching. Fulmer made it clear that he wants to go somewhere that has made a commitment to compete for conference championships. I would suggest that you keep an eye on Louisville, where Steve Kragthorpe has really been struggling (11-23) since he took over for Bobby Petrino. The Cardinals have a chance to get off to a rocky start with road games to Kentucky and Utah followed by a home game with Pittsburgh in the first five weeks. If Kragthorpe doesn’t show some improvement early, don’t be surprised if Fulmer gets a call. Would he take it? I don’t know. But he could certainly win that league in 2-3 years.

So the Phil Fulmer to Louisville rumor will be circulating all year should Louisville have a poor start out of the blocks. Just know that Steve Kragthrope is Tom Jurich's guy and will give every opportunity for Kragthrope to succeed but hopes winning is in the cards for 2009.

Photo Courtesy: David Lee Hartlage /The Louisville Courier-Journal